


Wandering Minds

by Spannah339



Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-13 00:21:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13558704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spannah339/pseuds/Spannah339
Summary: When Thomas is in a car crash, his brain shuts down to keep him alive, throwing the Sides into the depths of his mind. They have to find a way to get back to their headquarters before time runs out.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So, I’ve had Logan angst ideas bouncing around my head for the past few days, and hopefully, this fic will satisfy me. Don’t worry, there should be plenty of angst for the others as well - though not really in this chapter! Also, apologies for any OOC stuff, I’m not the best at fanfictions :)
> 
> Also, you can read it on Tumblr: https://sanders-sides-shambles.tumblr.com/post/170443027665/wandering-minds-chapter-one

It happened so quickly Logan didn’t have time to register what was going on. One minute Thomas was driving home after a busy day, the next a car has slammed into them, the control room was blazing with red light and Logan found himself thrown against a wall.

He pushed himself up, recovering his glasses from the floor beside him and snorting in annoyance as he saw one of the lenses were cracked. He flicked his wrist, fixing the crack and settled them on his nose, taking in the scene before him.

The control room was filled with red light, and alarms blared loudly. The other Sides were picking themselves up from where they had fallen, Roman brushing himself down, Patton’s eyes nervously darting around the room as he tried to make sense of what had happened, Virgil leaning against a wall and taking deep breaths to calm himself.

Outside, in the real world, Thomas was awake - barely holding onto consciousness. He was trapped in the mangled remains of his car - Logan could hear the faint shouts of passer-bys - someone calling for an ambulance.

“Lo - Logan, what happened?” Patton asked, and suddenly they were all looking at him. Logan coughed, and adjusted his tie, trying to regain his composure after being thrown against the wall.

“It appears we have been in some kind of accident,” he said calmly. Panicking wouldn’t help anything. “Thomas seems to have been injured. Perhaps…” he hesitated, not really wanting to say what he thought. But they needed to know how bad this really was. “Perhaps quite badly. Depending on the severity of his wounds, it is a possibility that he will die.”

Patton let out a small squeak and grabbed Roman’s arm.

“W-we’re going to die?” he asked, his eyes wide.

“Of course not!” Roman said, his hand gripping his sword hilt. “Someone will call an ambulance and Thomas’ll just have to spend some time in the hospital - we’ll be fine.”

“This is my fault,” Virgil muttered from the corner. He had slid down the wall and was hugging his knees. He rocked back and forth, repeating the phrase over and over. “This is my fault. This is my fault. This is my fault.”

“Statistically speaking,” Logan said, “There is a possibility that Thomas will die - depending on his injuries and how long it takes for the ambulance to arrive. Even if he does survive, it is likely that he will suffer some kind of long-term disability, be it paralysis or even loss of -”

The room was plunged into darkness. Someone screamed loudly.

“C-could you maybe not squeeze my arm so tightly, kiddo?” Patton’s voice asked in the silence that followed.

“Oh. Of course. My apologies,” Roman said, sounding a little embarrassed. “Logan, what’s going on?” he asked.

Logan had moved back, placing a hand on the wall behind him. It was silly, really, but he felt better knowing there was something solid behind him. Even though the whole mindscape was imaginary and it wasn’t really there.

“Thomas’ mind is shutting down,” he explained, his voice vanishing into the darkness. For a brief moment, he wondered if the others were even still there. Then he heard Roman’s fast breathing, Patton’s slightly panicked breath and Virgil, still muttering to himself. “The brain is shutting off the less important functions so that his vital organs will still function. And Virgil, this is not your fault. How could it be your fault? You were not driving the car that hit us.”

“It’s my job to protect Thomas,” Virgil shot back. “And I failed.”

“Kiddo -” Patton was cut off as the room seemed to spin. Logan was knocked off his feet again, his glasses slipping down his nose. He shoved them up again and tried to stand, but the room was still shaking.

He braced himself against the wall, more scared that he would ever admit. Then suddenly, with a faint popping sound, the wall vanished and he found himself surrounded by sand

Finding himself suddenly face down in a pile of sand was not Logan’s finest hour. He pulled himself from the coarse sand, brushed himself down and stood, taking in his surroundings.

It seemed to be a desert, sand stretching away on all side. Rocks were scattered about, some larger than Logan himself. And he was pretty sure he could see a dragon flying in the distance.

Around him the other Sides were also brushing themselves down, Roman looking quite put out by the sand covering his costume. Virgil remained where he was, leaning against a boulder, curled in a ball. Patton moved beside him.

“Where are we?” Roman asked. Logan took a moment to answer, taking another look around him.

“We’re in the back of Thomas’ mind,” Virgil said. He stood, leaning against the boulder and crossing his arms.

“Why does it look like a desert?” Roman asked, turning in a circle to take in the whole picture. Virgil shrugged.

“That would be you, Roman,” Logan said. “You’re the creativity, so you create what each part of Thomas’ mind looks like.”

“So I can do this?” Roman waved a hand, and suddenly they were in a castle courtyard. Virgil, no longer leaning against anything, stumbled back with a muttered curse.

“Don’t do that,” he snapped, regaining his balance. Logan was inclined to agree with him - the sudden change in surrounding had given him a small headache. He massaged his temples, annoyed at them all - especially Roman right now -for being so childish.

“The back of Thomas’ mind - that’s not good, right?” Patton asked, seeming to pick up on his annoyance.

“No,” Logan answered. “Thomas’ brain is on autopilot. It will do anything to keep him alive.”

“That’s a good thing though,” Roman said in confusion.

“It’s really not,” Virgil said. Logan nodded.

“Virgil is right. Autopilot will do anything to keep Thomas alive - to keep his body alive. Thomas may be living, but unless we get back to the control room he’ll be in a coma.”

A silence fell over the group following Logan’s statement. Roman finally broke it.

“Well. It seems we have a quest!” he said, showing a little too much excitement than Logan thought the situation allowed. 

But Patton seemed to cheer up, and Virgil gave a snort Logan decided to interpret as a happy one.

“Very well,” he said reluctantly, adjusting his tie. “We shall go on a quest.”

“A quest to escape this vile place and save Thomas!” Roman seemed positively buzzing at the prospect of an actual quest, and Logan opened his mouth to remind him of the seriousness of their predicament.

He was stopped by a strange sound, an ominous low growl. Virgil’s eyes darted in its direction and a flash of fear covered his face. Roman drew his sword.

Before Logan could figure out what was going on, there was a loud roar and a shape appeared above them, flying above the courtyard. It landed on the other side, wings out spread.

“Is that a -” Patton began, his voice high pitched.

“Dragonwitch,” Roman finished, stepping in front of the other Sides, his sword at the ready.


	2. Chapter 2

 The dragonwitch was a large, purple creature, bright yellow eyes glinting under what looked like a witch hat. It tucked its wings around its body and eyed the small group in front of it.

 “Well now. What are you doing here?” it asked, a flicker of flame appearing in its jaw.

 “Begone, vile beast!” Roman said, advancing.

 “Roman…” Virgil began, but the dragonwitch’s eyes darted to him and he silenced. It smiled, leaning down, closer to Roman. “That thing can hurt him,” Vigil muttered. Logan glanced at him, frowning slightly.

 “I think you should run, puny creature,” it hissed.

 Roman let out a shout and charge towards it.

 Logan watched him, wondering how correct Virgil was. Could the dragonwitch hurt him? As he watched, Roman ducked under its claws, slicing up. The monster jumped back, letting out a low growl.

 It moved quickly, leaping over Roman and landing in the centre of the courtyard. Logan had to dart to one side to avoid its long tail as it turned to face Roman again.

 He found himself pressed up against the wall, near what he guessed was the exit. Patton was on the other side of the courtyard, picking himself off the ground. Virgil was standing near the door, hugging himself.

 “Logan!” Patton shouted as he stood. He tried to cross the courtyard, but the dragonwitch was between them, wings out wide, tail waving wildly. Roman was moving around it, his sword flashing. “Get Virgil out of here!” Patton shouted to Logan.

 Logan turned to Virgil to see he had pulled his hoodie over his head, hiding his face and curling into himself. Patton was right – he needed to get out of here.

 He turned away from the battle between Roman and the dragonwitch, arriving at Virgil’s side. Virgil looked up at him, his eyes full of fear.

 “Let’s go,” Logan said, guiding Virgil away from the dragonwitch and out of the castle. Virgil followed silently.

 Once away from the castle, Virgil started to calm down. They emerged out in the desert again, distance nothingness of sand stretching all around them. Virgil seated himself on a large boulder, his legs curled around him, and began to calm down.

 As worried as he was about the others, Logan didn’t want to leave Virgil while he was in this state. So he stood beside Virgil, waiting for the other side to calm down.

 Finally, Virgil spoke.

 “They need you more than I do,” he muttered.

 “Perhaps. But it doesn’t make sense for you to be left on your own – who knows what would happen to you in this strange place. Besides,” he added. “I didn’t want to leave you like this.”

Virgil snorted, staring at the sand below the boulder.

 “It’s not really a strange place for me,” he said. Logan frowned, not sure what he meant.

 “You’ve been here before?” he asked.

 “Where do you think unwanted thoughts get sent?” he asked, looking up at Logan. He spread an arm, gesturing around the desert. “And I’m often a pretty unwanted thought.”

 Logan didn’t answer – Virgil wasn’t wrong. He had been an unwanted thought – but not so much anymore. Now Thomas had accepted Virgil and all his problems, now he was part of the family.

 Speaking of family… he turned back to look at the castle, wondering if he should leave Virgil and try to help the others. As he was considering, a loud roar shook the whole building and Patton appearing the door, Roman leaning heavily on his shoulder.

 Logan hurried towards them, worried.

 “I can take it! Patton, let me go!” Roman was shouting, waving his sword with his free hand. A large gash was across his belly, his white tunic turning red with blood around it. Blood from a wound on his head was also dripping down his face.

 “You can’t take it,” Virgil, who had followed Logan, hissed. “No one can take it. We need to get out of here. _Now_.”

 Logan supported Roman from the other side, carefully prying the sword from the protesting prince’s fingers and handing it to Virgil.

 “What is it?” Patton asked as they started moving away from the castle.

 “It’s like no dragonwitch I have faced,” Roman added. He seemed to have given up now, hanging limply between Logan and Patton, his wounds obviously paining him greatly.

 “That’s because it's not one,” Virgil muttered. “It only takes the form of a dragonwitch, because well – I dunno. It’s something Thomas has come up with that’s a great monster, I guess.”

 “It’s a nightmare,” Logan realised.

 “I guess you could call it that,” Virgil said, swinging the sword in his hand.

 “A nightmare?” Patton asked. He was obviously struggling with Roman’s weight and the fast pace and was panting. Vigil, noticing his discomfort, handed him the sword and took Roman’s other side.

 “The embodiment of Thomas’ fears,” Logan explained. “It’s The Nightmare, really.”   
  
“Thomas is scared of dragonwitches?” Patton asked, frowning.

 “I don’t think so,” Logan admitted. “But perhaps one of us are.”

 Roman let out a small cough, trying to stand on his own again. The others looked at him, and he ducked his head.

 “They are great beasts,” he muttered. “A prince shouldn’t be scared of anything, and yet I am afraid of my own creation.”

 “Everyone’s afraid of something,” Virgil muttered.

 As he spoke, Patton let out a shriek and rushed past them, the sword gripped tightly between both his hands. Looking over his shoulder, Logan saw what had scared him.

 It was a huge spider, looming over the small group. Despite himself, Logan felt his heart rate quicken at the sight of it.

Roman took the opportunity to break free of Logan and Virgil’s grip, staggering forward and snatching the sword from Patton’s unresisting grasp.

 He turned, swaying slightly, the sword wavering in his grasp.

“Begone!” he growled. The spider – the Nightmare – paused, eyeing Roman in front of it.

 “You begone,” it hissed, lunging forward.

 But before it could engage with Roman, something strange happened. It started at the legs, but slowly the creature’s whole body started to fade – before suddenly, it was gone.

 “Where’d it go?” Patton asked. He had taken shelter behind a large rock and now peered over the boulder.

 Logan hesitated – he was pretty sure he knew what was happening but didn’t really want to alarm the others.

 But he was saved from saying anything by Roman, who staggered forward and dropped to his knees, steadying himself with the sword dug into the sand. Patton rushed forward, giving the spot the spider had vanished a nervous look, before helping Roman to his feet and to the boulder, where he settled Roman.

 “I am weak!” Roman muttered, one had pressed to the wound on his chest.

 “Falsehood,” Logan said sharply. “Sustaining damage like that was unavoidable when you face a creature such as the Nightmare. You cannot hope to take on the embodiment of what scares you. No one could. The fact you lasted as long as you did and only took a small number of wounds is impressive.”

  “But I let you down,” Roman protested. “One of you could have got hurt – and then I had retreat – I am a weak coward.”

 “Guys,” Patton said, trying to get their attention. Logan ignored him, annoyed at Roman for thinking so little of himself.

 “You faced a creature that you were scared of, knowing full well that this version of that creature could hurt you,” he said, crossing his arms and glaring down at Roman. “That was not cowardice – that was great bravery.”

 Roman tried to push himself up but winched. His wounds were already healing – not being real meant wounds weren’t very serious – but he was still obviously in pain.

 “I couldn’t do it –” he muttered. “I couldn’t protect you.”

“Guys!” Patton’s voice was full of fear and worry, more urgent. This time Logan turned to him, a little annoyed.

 “Wha-” he began but stopped when he saw what was happening.

 Patton was staring at Virgil, who in turn was staring at his hands. Or where his hands were supposed to be. They had begun fading, slowly dissolving into nothing.

 “What’s happening to me?” Virgil asked, looking up at Logan with fear obvious in his voice.


End file.
